Find your Rx for Financial Health

Financial health doesn't happen overnight, but the first step is understanding where you stand today.

Answer the following questions to better understand your current financial condition. Then get your prescription for financial health—things you can do to improve it.

Step 1 of 6

About You

First, tell us a little bit about yourself so we can best help you.

Age

SexFemaleMale

I currentlyRentOwn

Have questions about any of these terms? Check out our glossary for more information.

Step 2 of 6

Your Income

Your income is the money you have coming in. It’s what you use to pay for your living expenses, debts, and save for your goals.

Gross Income$

Your total monthly income before taxes or deductions are taken out of your pay.

Net Income$

Your total monthly income after all taxes and deductions are taken out of your pay. It’s also called your take home pay.

Have questions about any of these terms? Check out our glossary for more information.

Step 3 of 6

Your Savings

Savings is the money you set aside from your income. You could be saving for emergencies, the holidays, retirement, or some other goal.

Total saved per month

The amount you save each month for large purchases and long-term goals, such as retirement.

Emergency savings

This is the amount you set aside each month for emergencies. If you don’t have any then enter “0” and if you don’t distinguish between emergency & long-term then enter the total amount you save each month and enter “0” in emergency savings.

Have questions about any of these terms? Check out our glossary for more information.

Total Monthly Expenses

Have questions about any of these terms? Check out our glossary for more information.

Step 5 of 6

Your Debt

Debt is money you owe because you have borrowed it. This could be payments on your car, your home (if you own it), credit cards, student loans, or money borrowed from a friend.

Monthly Debt Payments$

Include the total monthly debt payment on all of the debts you owe.

Have questions about any of these terms? Check out our glossary for more information.

Step 6 of 6

Results

Learn where you stand, where you’re strong, and where you financial health could use some extra care and how to provide it.

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is excellent! You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. You are spending less than you earn and the amount of money you dedicate to housing and transportation is sustainable. Finally, you are not tying up too much of your income with debt.
Keep doing what you are doing. If you can, dedicate even more of your income to savings to reach your goals faster.

Based on the information you provided, your financial health would be improved by saving more of your income. To do this, you will need to spend less than you earn and pay down some of your debt. Finally, you may want to look at the amount you are spending on housing and transportation. Together, these expenses should be below 45% of your income. Spending more than 45% on housing and transportation can make it hard to make ends meet.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Based on the information you provided, your financial health needs some improvement. You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. But, your financial health would be improved by spending less than you earn and paying down some of your debt. Finally, you may want to look at the amount you are spending on housing and transportation. Together, these expenses should be below 45% of your income. Spending more than 45% on housing and transportation can make it hard to make ends meet.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good, but could use some strengthening. You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. You are spending less than you earn, which is a foundation for financial health. To improve your financial health, you may want to pay down some of your debt. Right now, debt is putting too much pressure on your budget. Finally, you may want to look at the amount you are spending on housing and transportation. Together, these expenses should be below 45% of your income. Spending more than 45% on housing and transportation can make it hard to make ends meet.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good! You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. You are spending less than you earn, which is a foundation for financial health. The amount of money you dedicate to housing and transportation is sustainable. To improve your financial health, you may want to pay down some of your debt. Right now, debt is putting too much pressure on your budget.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Based on the information you provided, you are on the right track, but your financial health could use some strengthening. You are spending less than you earn, which is great. This is a foundation for financial health. But, your financial health would be improved by paying down some of your debt. Right now, debt is putting too much pressure on your budget. You may also want to look at the amount you are spending on housing and transportation. Together, these expenses should be below 45% of your income. Spending more than 45% on housing and transportation can make it hard to make ends meet. Paying down your debt and reducing your expenses may help to free up more of your income for savings. If you are not saving anything, start with a small amount—set aside $5 or $10 from your income every week to start building an emergency savings fund. .
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good! You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. You are spending less than you earn, which is a foundation for financial health. And right now, you are not spending too much of your income on debt. You may want to look at the amount you are spending on housing and transportation. Together, these expenses should be below 45% of your income. Spending more than 45% on housing and transportation can make it hard to make ends meet.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good, but could use some strengthening. You are not spending too much of your income on debt. Your spending on housing and transportation is below 45% of your income—this is a healthy amount to be spending. Your financial health would be improved by spending less than you earn. This is the foundation for financial health. Once you are spending less than you earn, consider saving for emergencies and for your longer-term goals. Ideally, you want to set aside at least 20% of your income for savings. If you haven’t saved before, start with a small amount—$5 or $10 from your income every week can build an emergency savings fund over time.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good, but could use some strengthening. You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. And right now, you are not spending too much of your income on debt. Your financial health would be improved by spending less than you earn. This is the foundation for financial health. You may want to look at the amount you are spending on housing and transportation. Together, these expenses should be below 45% of your income. Spending more than 45% on housing and transportation can make it hard to make ends meet.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good, but could use a little strengthening. You are spending less than you earn and the amount of money you dedicate to housing and transportation is sustainable. And, you are not tying up too much of your income with debt. You financial health would be improved by increasing your savings. Ideally, you want to set aside at least 20% of your income for savings. If you haven’t saved before, start with a small amount—$5 or $10 from your income every week can build an emergency savings fund over time.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Based on the information you provided, you are on the right track, but your financial health could use some strengthening. The amount of money you dedicate to housing and transportation is sustainable, but you are spending more than you earn and tying up too much of your money with debt. Reducing your expenses may be able to help you pay down your debt as well as begin saving for emergencies and your longer-term goals. If you haven’t saved before, start with a small amount—$5 or $10 from your income every week can build an emergency savings fund over time.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good, but could use some strengthening! You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. And, the amount of money you dedicate to housing and transportation is sustainable. But, you are spending more than you earn and tying up too much of your money with debt. Reducing your expenses may be able to help you pay down your debt faster, freeing up more of your income for savings.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Congratulations! Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good! You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. You are spending less than you earn and you are not tying up too much of your income with debt. But, you may want to look at the amount you are spending on housing and transportation. Together, these expenses should be below 45% of your income. Spending more than 45% on housing and transportation can make it hard to make ends meet.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good, but could use some strengthening. You are spending less than you earn and the amount of money you dedicate to housing and transportation is sustainable. But, you are tying up too much of your income with debt. You may want to look at your budget to see if there are areas that could be reduced, allowing you to pay down your debt faster and free up more of your income for savings. If you haven’t saved before, start with a small amount—$5 or $10 from your income every week can build an emergency savings fund over time.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Based on the information you provided, your financial health could use some strengthening. You are not tying up too much of your income with debt, but you are spending more than you earn, which may be caused by the high percentage of your income spent on housing and transportation. Reducing this amount may help you free up more of your income for savings. If you haven’t saved before, start with a small amount—$5 or $10 from your income every week can build an emergency savings fund over time.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Based on the information you provided, your financial health is good but could use some strengthening. You are saving at least 20% of your income, which means you are ready for financial emergencies and probably saving for your goals. You are spending more than you earn, but not tying up too much of your income in housing, transportation, or debt. You may want to look at the amount you are spending on other expenses, such as food, childcare, or medical. Reducing those expenses could free up more of your income for savings.
With some small steps today and a longer-term plan, you can make changes that will improve your financial health!

Savings Rate

This is the portion of your income you set aside for goals and emergencies each month. For optimal health, try to reach 20%.

Your financial health would improve by saving. Even saving a small amount for emergencies will make a difference. Try setting aside $5 - $10 a week or month to start. Put that money in a safe place.Your financial health would improve by saving more. Try adding $10 or $20 a week to the amount you are saving. If you haven't, make sure you have a dedicated emergency fund, too. Just having $500 to $1000 set aside an emergency fund can make a big, positive difference.You're saving about $.10 out of every dollar that you make. You are saving more than your average American. Keep up this good work. You can improve your financial health by dedicating even more of your income to savings. Remember to build up an emergency fund and save for your goals.You are saving more than your average American. Keep up this good work. You can improve your financial health by dedicating even more of your income to savings. Remember to build up an emergency fund and save for your goals.You are saving at least 1/5 of your income. You are saving more than your average American. Keep up this good work. You can improve your financial health by dedicating even more of your income to savings. Remember to build up an emergency fund and save for your goals.

Additional Resources:

Expenses to Income Ratio

This is the amount of take home pay you use every month. For optimal health, you want this number to be less than 1. The lower the number, the better.

You are spending more than you earn. You probably know this from not being able to cover all of your expenses every month. Find ways to cut your spending, increase your income, or get benefits to help bring your budget into balance.You are spending almost everything you earn. You probably know this from just being able to cover your expenses each month. Find ways to cut your spending or increase your income. This will bring you peace of mind and give you a little cushion each month.You're not spending all of your income--in fact you are likely able to save aboug 10% of your gross income. Spending less than you earn gives you financial stability. It provides a cushion for when your income may not be the same as it is now. You can improve your financial health even more by dedicating less of your money to spending.You're not spending all of your income. Congratulations! Spending less than you earn gives you financial stability. It provides a cushion for when your income may not be the same as it is now. You can improve your financial health even more by dedicating less of your money to spending.You're not spending all of your income. Congratulations! This is the foundation for financial health. Spending less than you earn gives you financial stability. Maintain this level of spending or reduce it more for optimal financial health.

Housing to Net Income Ratio

This is the amount of your take home pay that covers all expenses related to housing. For optimal health, try keeping this number at 30% or less

Right now, almost half of your income is going toward your housing and your transportation. This is putting a lot of stress on your budget. Look for ways to bring down the cost of housing or transportation to improve your financial health.Right now, almost half of your income is going toward your housing and your transportation. This is putting a lot of stress on your budget. Look for ways to bring down the cost of housing or transportation to improve your financial health.Right now, a lot of your income is going toward your housing and your transportation. This is putting a lot of stress on your budget. Look for ways to bring down the cost of housing or transportation to improve your financial health.Housing and your transportation together make up a little over 1/3 of your budget. You can maintain this level of spending on these two things relative to your income. Keep up the good work!Housing and your transportation together make up about 1/3 of your budget. You can maintain this level of spending on these two things relative to your income. Keep up the good work!

Debt to Income Ratio

This is the percentage of your income that you spend on paying back money you owe each month.

Right now, too much of your income is going to your debt. Your financial health would be improved by getting rid of your debt. Eliminating debt will give you more income each month for saving and paying for other essentials like your rent. Paying down debt may also give you greater peace of mind.Right now, more than too much of your income is going to your debt. Your financial health would be improved by getting rid of your debt. Eliminating debt will give you more income each month for saving and paying for other essentials.Even though the amount of income that you pay toward debt is within a sustainable range, your financial health could be strengthened by getting rid of some of it. Keep up the good work and try not to add any debt.Compared with most people, you are paying a smaller amount of your income to debt. Congratulations! Keep this up. Low levels of debt is a foundation for financial health.Compared with most people, you are paying a smaller amount of your income to debt. Congratulations! Keep this up. Low levels of debt is a foundation for financial health.